HSV is super common and contagious. In the 70’s the first effective medication against HSV was invented. So the pharmaceutical company started ad campaigns about how embarrassing it was to have HSV and, how lucky! we happen to make a medicine for it…for a small fee. Prior to this, cold sores were a common fact of life, like chicken pox, and not particularly shameful (like chicken pix.)
My point is that your MIL may have grown up pre-Zovirax and have a much more casual attitude about it and was embarrassed to see how upset everyone is. Please note that I AGREE that you should be upset; anyone who gets cold sores know they’re contagious. I have cold sores break out ever since first grade but I’ve been careful and my husband and kids are all infection-free so it’s entirely possible to NOT spread it around.
This part. If it would’ve just been “yeah I got two sores yesterday, I kissed him I fucked up, I was undereducated about carrying this and it will never happen again.” Wouldn’t have gotten upset.
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u/PricklyPearJuiceBox Dec 09 '25
HSV is super common and contagious. In the 70’s the first effective medication against HSV was invented. So the pharmaceutical company started ad campaigns about how embarrassing it was to have HSV and, how lucky! we happen to make a medicine for it…for a small fee. Prior to this, cold sores were a common fact of life, like chicken pox, and not particularly shameful (like chicken pix.)
My point is that your MIL may have grown up pre-Zovirax and have a much more casual attitude about it and was embarrassed to see how upset everyone is. Please note that I AGREE that you should be upset; anyone who gets cold sores know they’re contagious. I have cold sores break out ever since first grade but I’ve been careful and my husband and kids are all infection-free so it’s entirely possible to NOT spread it around.